Propeller mud-guard for aeroplanes



N. A. STRAND. PROPELLER MUD GUARD FOR AEROPLANES, APPLICATION FILED APR.3. 1920.

1,341,202. Patented May25, 1920.

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PATENTIOFFICE.

, NEIL rem srnann, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

PBOPELLER MUD-GUARD FOR AEROPLANES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 25, 1920.

Application filed April 3, 1920. Serial No. 371,023.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it 'known that I, NEIL ALFRED STRAND, a citizen of the United States,and resident of Brookl n, in the county of Kings and State of ew York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in PropellerMud-Guards for Aeroplanes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to propeller mud guards.

Its primary object is to devise a protector for the propeller againstmud or dirt thrown toward it by the landing wheels of an aeroplane, whenstartin or terminating a flight.

Another object of my invention is to pro vide a device of this kindwhich will cause as little resistance to the flying as possible and atthe same time accomplish the desired results.

In order to make more clear the above and other objects a shortexplanation of my device and the importance of its application isnecessary.

It very often occurs in flying that the aviator is forced to land onorascend from muddy, sandy or other grounds unfavorable for such purposes.V i

The landing wheels invariably bury themselves partially into the groundand throw up earth in the" general direction of the travel of theaeroplane and tangentially to the upper part of the wheelscircumference. The thrown up mud, sand and often stones of considerableweight come in contact with the propeller spinning at a high rate andinflict serious injuries to the propeller blades which may prove fatalto the aviator. It is well known that a slightly cracked propeller willcause a considerable deviation in the course of flying, and that abroken-out blade will unbalance the propeller and render it, if notincapable,'at least very dangerous for use.

In order to prevent the throwing off of injuriousgroundparticles fromthe wheels against the propeller my device is attached in near proximitywith and above the land companying drawings, forming part of thisspecification, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an aeroplane with my device attached.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the aeroplane showing my device in place abovethe landing wheels.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of myiidevice.

eferring to the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates the aeroplane body,11 the upper wing or plane, 12 the lower plane or planes, below andsomewhat in front of which the landing wheels 13 are provided.

Ahead of the engine housing 1 1 the propeller 15 may be observed.Attached to the front edge 16. of the lower planes 12 my device,indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 at 17, is disposed, as shown, above thelanding wheels 13, so as to provide a shield between them and propeller15.

..A preferred construction of my device is shown in Fig. 3 in detail. Itconsists of a pair of beams 18 having the shape of a form of the frameis U-shaped. Its connected portion, the bracket 20, abuts with the wingends, while its parallel free ends face the propeller. 1

At the bottom portion of the frame a guard 24, made preferably of wirenettin is provided, spreading from its free ends back to the lowerpart22 of the bracket.

The wire netting not only prevents large earth particles or stones frombeing thrown against the propeller blades, but it cleanses itself ofadhering mud when passing through the air. In addition the nettingcauses comparatively little head resistance. While the abovespecification deals with a preferred form of my device it is obviousthat frequent changes will be required to meet variousconditions arisingfrom different aeroplane construction.

I reserve for myself, therefore, the right tions of my device, I claim:

1. In combination with an aeroplane having landing wheels in closeproximity with its propeller, a propeller mud guard provided above saidwheels, comprising a substantially U-shapedframe composed of twoparallel double beams reinforced at substantially their centers by aweb-connection, a V-shaped double bracket adapted to be fastened to theaeroplane wings above said wheels, said double-beams attached to saidbracket, and a wire netting spread between said beams and extending tothe lower end of said bracket.

2. In combination with an aeroplane having landing wheels, propellersand wings, a propeller mud guard compriisng a generally U-shaped frameopen at the unconnected end and adapted to be attached to said wingsabove said wheels, a wire netting spreading between its legs from theunconnected front end to the attaching end.

3. In combination with an aeroplane, a propeller mud guard comprising aframe open at one end and connected at the other end, a wire nettingspread between and attached to said frame, said mud guard adapted to beattached above the wheels, and between the wheels and the propeller ofan aeroplane.

4. In an aeroplane, a propeller mud guard composed of a pair ofreinforced, parallel, curved beams, an attachment member, said beamssecured to said member, and a wire netting spread between and attachedto said beams and said attaching member.

5. A propeller mud guard comprising a frame open at one end andconnected at the opposite end, a wire netting spread within said framefrom the open end to the connected end, said guard adapted to beattached above the landing wheels and facing the propeller of anaeroplane.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of NewYork, this 15th day of March, A. D. 1920.

NEIL ALFRED STRAND.

